Local News

Lowell Veteran Pleads Guilty in Infant Death Case

Army veteran Christopher Berry, 24, of Lowell, testifies on the witness stand during a hearing in which Berry plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the shaking death of his nine-week-old son. The Boston Globe

A Lowell man pleaded guilty today to involuntary manslaughter in the 2013 death of his infant son. Christopher Berry’s plea, which was reduced from second-degree murder, comes 18 months after his nine-week-old son was killed.

“I’m here because I accidentally killed my son William,’’ Berry said in court.

Prosecutors claim Berry, 24, shook the child in frustration to stop his crying when the two were home alone in May 2013. Berry’s lawyer said the Afghanistan veteran, who survived a suicide bomber attack in 2011, had post-traumatic stress disorder.

Berry was sentenced to 12 to 16 years in prison.

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